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The Imam says that the meaning of the words of the Quran are not there literally. It takes contemplative interpretation and explanation in order to find the significance of the words. However, the Imam suggests that the meanings, or the concepts, of these words can only be found when studying the Quran; ie the concepts are not found as a defined idea, but through their usage throughout the Quran.

Therefore, in order to grasp the esoteric meaning of the Quran, one’s analysis must be multi-dimensional. Meaning comes from the context, and so meaning requires explanation not because the listeners are unable to interpret the Quran, but because meaning comes from contextual significance and usage. Therefore, a wizean must explain the different contexts in which these concepts are revealed, in order to grasp the concepts themselves. I think these “contexts” are historical, but also literary and spiritualistic (i.e. the explanation of tawhid is inherent to the explanation of funnafillah, and thus the concept of tawhid is understood in the context of explaining funnafillah). Thus, words and concepts gain meaning only from their usage.

Rather than being a criticism of words or of the interpreter, the imam’s comment - that the meaning of words is not understood by everyone - is an emphasis of the universality of the Quran and the complexity of diversity. Because words gain meaning from their usage, words with far reaching utility have multiple layers of meaning. The Quran timeless, it is always relevant and always wise, and this universality could result in nearly infinite layers of meaning, because it has nearly infinite usages and applicability. The contemplation of the Quran becomes a manifestation of this infinity. This brings to mind a saying of Hazrat Ali (SAS), “You think you are just this insignificant speck but within thee is encapsulated the greatest universe. So you are the manifest book (referring to the Qur’an, the book which makes clear).” We ourselves become a manifestation of the meaning of the words of the Quran, by being included in its truths. The Quran applies to our lives in different ways, and so the meaning of the words changes depending on how it is released through our lives, thus leading to a highly individual and personal relationship with the Quran, but also a multiplicity in meaning that spans the whole of the human population. Thus, the same meaning is not there to everyone, meaning is simply the outward form of the essential universality of the Quran. The acceptance of the diversity of interpretations of the Quran is the acceptance of the essence and power of the Quran. Celebrating this diversity is a manifestation of the inspiration of the Quran, and therefore a further realization of the Quran in our lives. This inspiration is inherent to our esoteric branch of islam, externally a branch of pluralism in interpretation, and internally a branch of inspired spiritual relationships and art. Our relationship with the Quran manifests in many ways.

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O you who believe! Be mindful of Allah as he is His due, and do not die except as those who submit [to Him]. Hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah and do not separate…

Let there be among you a community who invite to the good, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. It is they who are successful. (3:102-104)

You are the best umma raised for mankind. You urge what is right and forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah…(3:110)

1. Message of Ayat

The first paragraph brings to mind messages of spirituality. The sentence, “Be mindful of Allah as he is His due” combines two concepts. The first, Taqwa, is regarded as a fundamental concept in Sufism. The second, debt to Allah, brings to mind dasond and the relationship between believer and God. This shows that our inner sense of God and spirituality is central to how we relate to him. This relationship is symbolised by the “Rope of Allah.” Next, the ayat talks about dying in submittance to God, which brings to mind Fana Fi Allah, another central sufi concept. By talking about Fana fi Allah, the ayat again brings up our inner relationship to Allah, and our eventual unity with Him. By talking about Sufism, the first paragraph seems to be focused on spirituality, our inner reality.

The second paragraph brings to mind our relationship with those around us. It should be built so that there is “a community who invite to the good, and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong.” This sentence highlights how we are to treat others, our ethics. Therefore, the second paragraph is focused on ethics, our shared reality.

The sentence “Hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah and do not separate,” which occurs between the two paragraphs, is a segway between the two concepts of the ayat. The Rope of Allah is our relationship to Allah, and by telling us to hold onto this relationship together, the ayat reminds the umma that our shared sense of spirituality unites us, and in being united, we become one community and should not separate. This union is how we relate to each other, and treat each other, and is therefore the source of our ethics. Therefore, our union in the umma is the bridge between the inner reality and the shared reality. In this spiritually inspired community, we become “the best umma raised for mankind.” This is because our ethics are inspired by our spirituality, our faith, in such a way that “[we] urge what is right and forbid what is wrong, and believe in Allah.” Therefore, the meaning of the ayat is the union of faith and ethics in the umma. Without this union, the umma would be separated, and therefore the union between people is the union between faith and ethics, and thus union is vastly important. Without holding fast would be to separate, from both Allah and from each other.

The image we chose to represent this is a rope in the circle. The outside of the rope represents our shared, outward reality, and the inside represents our inner reality. The Rope symbolizes the Rope of Allah, and connects the two realities.

The current issue this is related to is the many refugees coming to Canada from Syria and Afghanistan. Many of these people are Muslims, yet they feel removed from their communities and outsiders in their new country. Uniting with them in spirituality shows the vital role the Muslim community can play, and it shows how the “Rope of Allah” that connects us stretches around the world, regardless of culture or lifestyle.

This Ayat also challenges the Modern Western world view. The division between church and state is a characteristic societal feature of liberal western democracies. This Ayat shows a different perspective, how religion plays a vital role in a community. Therefore, the Ayat represents two different worldviews, and therefore has global implications.

We chose to represent the global implications of the Ayat through a globe inside of the rope. The globe is in the “inner reality” of the rope, and the rope stretches around the world and encompasses it, showing how the ummah stretches around the world and is united in spirit. However, there are many different worldviews which characterise different societies and different ways of looking at the world, and which change depending on your context. The colour of the people changing depending on their position represents this.

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The Quran mainly changed the intentions behind actions - every action became less self-centered and less survival centered.
- Covenant with God, rather than between people, allowed people to be united together rather than united against each other. Kinship ties had no significance in the Day of Jugement
- Self restraint became as admired as the ability to act (courage)
- Movement from vainglory (pride in recognition of generous acts) to generosity out of faith in God and fear of the Hereafter.
- Movement of self restraint out of a need to survive to self restraint out of patience (and forgiving annoyances instead of seeking vengeance)